Zeb Wilson, left, runs a timer Saturday while Marci Rossiter, the only woman at the Gunfighters Competition, fires at targets during the four-course shooting tournament held by SpearHead Tactical north of Vega.

Chris McKaskey raised a 9mm Glock through an SUV window and fired several rounds at five targets.

The Pantex Plant guard opened the passenger door, picked up his assault rifle and hustled to the next station — a mound of dirt where he caught his breath before shooting another five targets.

McKaskey, 30, and about 40 others battled Saturday in SpearHead Tactical’s first Gunfighters Competition. The race brought in competition shooters, guards, law enforcement officers and current and former armed forces personnel from across the Texas Panhandle and as far away as Dallas, organizers said.

SpearHead Tactical opened in February to train snipers in law enforcement agencies and the military. The company also holds long-range shooting classes for civilians.

“They’re all going to be on the same level,” the business’ owner Scott Cantu said. “(Control) is the object. It’s a pretty dangerous course, really.”

Randy Glass, a shooting instructor and logistics specialist, said the entire range included about 280 degrees of live fire.

“We wanted something that was available to everyone, but still outside of the box,” Glass said. “(The tournament) opens up to a whole new niche (than sniper competitions). And we have a bigger playground than everyone else.”

The competition included four combat-simulated courses with shooting on the move and mandatory reloads. Organizers split competitors into four groups, timed each person and docked time for any penalties or missed shots.

Jeremy Bonar, 28, said he dusted off the course for his group when he went first.

Bonar fired off four rounds with his 9mm Springfield XD at the first site; raced to the second site, where he popped off another four rounds; and ran to the simulated rooftop, where he shot 20 rounds off his Bushmaster AR-15.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice range officer said the course was great, but he didn’t do well during the first heat. The small targets made the course challenging, he said.

“It was just ignorance of the course and how it needed to be run,” Bonar said. “(Being first), you’re setting the pace for everyone else.”

The self-proclaimed novice shooter said the tournament was his first tactical competition.

“It’s all knowledge now,” he said. “I’m getting around to the finer tactics.”

Marci Rossiter, the only woman in the competition, also started the first course for her group.

Rossiter, 31, shot targets through a 2-by-5-foot hole in a wooden door and fired more rounds through lattice work before loading her assault rifle and running the same course backward.

“You just got to figure it out as you go along,” said Rossiter, a Pantex guard. “It went really good. Your arms are shaking, but that’s all part of it. Your adrenaline is going to be pumping.”

McKaskey, a Livermore, Calif., native who was in the same group as Rossiter, said he simply wanted to practice and pick up a few tactics in his first competition.

In his first heat, McKaskey broke off the front site post of his pistol as he shot through the mailbox slot.

“It didn’t turn out so well,” he said. “But I made do.”

His second round — shooting through the SUV window — went more smoothly after he borrowed another pistol, he said.

“It’s good training,” he said. “You just have to take your time doing the tactical courses that involve sprinting over distances. Get your breathing under control, and find your pace.”